March 2016

I cannot stand buying water in plastic bottles. It completely pisses me off that it is so easy to create such waste and for what? No, I’ve had enough and I am definitely committed to working hard to take water whenever we are out and about. But I can do better. I must do better.   I also get pissed at restaurants/cafes that insist on selling me bottles of water, versus supplying water freely. Waste, waste, waste, waste! Too much bloody waste!     But you see, I can make this choice, because I am lucky. I have mostly lived in countries where it is safe to drink water out of a tap. In case you are not aware, the majority of the world does not have that luxury. I know, I’ve been exposed to the water.   I’ve had Pharaoh’s Revenge in Egypt, Delhi Belly (many times) in India, Montezuma’s Revenge in Mexico, Bali Belly in Indonesia, the Kathmandu Quick Step in Nepal, and well, you get the flavour. I don’t know what it’s called in China, but I’ve had it there too and it’s not fun when the cramps hit. At that point, you have no choice but to unleash in public toilets without walls.   And I mean no walls. Zero. It’s a big room with a drain. You squat over the drain and you go. The problem is a blonde woman in China in 1995 attracts a crowd. I can never explain how it feels to have an audience watch you squirting for your life, and there is nothing you can do about it. Friendly people though. Very curious. Especially 20 years ago…   Wait, my colleague Howard has directed me to a Wiki page on travellers’ diarrhoea.In China it’s called ‘pulled stomach.’ BORING!   Anyhoo, back to the point. It’s World Water Day today, March 22nd, and this day is about a lot of things (please check it out and support them), but for me, it’s about waste.   Apart from many of the places listed above, the biggest water bottle waste comes from countries where we have the privilege of drinking clean water out of a tap. Criminal. We need to stop buying bottled water and we need to do it now. We need to put Coke, Pepsi, Nestle and all of those other big companies on notice and get them to shut down these facilities. It is bloody bullshit that we – and yes WE – have ever created an industry where we buy bloody water. We’re all guilty and it has to stop.   Remember when the CEO of Nestle made a preposterous claim that access to water was not a human right? Remember how pissed we were about that? And yet we buy bloody water. What sort of idiots are we? Seriously.     What can we do? Well we can all buy high quality metal water bottles (not shitty plastic ones please), that come with a little bag, and then make sure we never leave home without our own water receptacle. We buy them for our kids, why not ourselves?   Then we need to insist that any business of any description has a water cooler – you know, the metal ones, not the plastic ones – and the water comes out cold. Governments should legislate this as a requirement like they do with fire alarms. You have a business; you must make water accessible to anyone visiting your establishment. Additionally, you must not supply plastic cups either, because hey, everyone has a water bottle right? Governments can legislate this for all businesses – it’s an action they can take.   Naturally, this will take some time, of course, but we can all take action right now. We can be responsible for carrying our own water with us. If we are regulars at bars, restaurants, cafes, etc…. we can insist they stop selling water in plastic bottles and provide jugs the customers can easily access. We are customers, we can make them change. I’ve started doing this around town. I’ve had enough.   If we live in a country where it is not going to kill us to drink water out of a tap, we owe it to ourselves to take responsibility and take action. We can all make small changes that add up to big changes.   And don’t forget, as the next two billion people move into middle class status over the next couple of years, the first thing they’re going to do is buy bloody water in bottles, because they live in countries where the water is shit and now they can afford to buy bottled water. We’ve got to change this today. We must. Another two billion people contributing to plastic waste? We will all choke.   Can we stop the madness one person at a time? What do you reckon? Are you with me? Shall we make it our pact today, on World Water Day?   Yours, without the bollocks Andrea BTW I’m on Twitter here, Google+ here, Instagram here, and Facebook too, if you’re interested in the other stuff I share. Feel free to share my blog if you think anyone you know will be interested or entertained. I sure do appreciate it when you do xxxxx

It’s been a weird couple of weeks with the boys. Over the years, my treasures seem to have lumbered through phases, coming out very very slowly and it takes us a while to acknowledge that it has, indeed, finally ended. It’s like a lightning bolt will strike one day and we’ll exclaim to each other: “shit ain’t you glad that little phase is over!?”   I can definitely say that some phases make you grind your teeth! Worse when we see a re-emergence of a phase we think is over…   But phases ending has never been sudden or decisive, which we’ve always put down to the fact that the boys are very close in age. At only 15 months apart, each of the stages seems to have been extended dramatically between them, as Lex doesn’t finish one before Jax starts. However, in this last couple of weeks we have seen dramatic and decisive changes. First Jax came home from school one day and asked us to stop picking him up from the bus. He’s a big boy now and can come home by himself.   The problem with that one is we like picking him up from the bus and we like the few minutes we get one-on-one to catch up on his day as we walk home. Now we aren’t even sure when he comes home – as he often sneaks in, steals his iPad and hightails it to a hidden destination.   But he really wants it and we must respect that, although I can admit it’s been a bit of an emotional tug.   Then bath time. They’ve always done it together and it’s often a moment in the day of annoying arguments, pinches, punches, mess and screaming, but it was something we always did together. No more. Separate bath times is the new request.   Oh OK. If that’s what you want.   And then finally, they got new beds. We’ve been promising this for ages and it was time. They’re growing up and it was time to get grown up beds. They now have loft beds, and in the two weeks since we’ve had them, the boys are spending an extraordinary amount of time in them, as well as playing with the stuff under them. It’s actually really cool, but equally, the house feels so empty, so eerily quiet.   We definitely feel we’re getting a sense of what the next decade is going to look like. The biggest challenge with all of these changes is that Steve has basically been away for work. I’ve been bitching and moaning about his absence, because it’s hard when he’s away and I’ve got a lot of shit to get done at the moment. But I just can’t do it when he’s away, although that’s another point all together. Work is work.   The problem is, while I am going through each of these changes separately (if quickly), Steve comes home to face the fact everything has changed – apparently overnight. It’s quite dramatic for him.   He’s trying to grapple with it all in one go and bless, he’s not sure what to do with himself! The first day he was home he went out and picked Jax up off the bus – because he really wanted to. He misses his little dudes when he’s away! But I had to say no mate, you can’t. He’s asked for this and we MUST respect it. I think it will take Steve a little bit of time to let go. He’s a softy my husband.   Raising kids has been quite a journey, and in many ways, I was always looking forward to these years – the less chaotic ones. I’m in them now and I really like it, but there are moments when I mourn the passing of time too – they were cute little buggers after all. Equally, I know they will want us less and less now, which is totally cool, but sometimes it’s not really.   Ahhhhhh bloody kids hey! They really are quite marvelous.   Anyone else going through tumultuous changes with their treasures?   Yours, without the bollocks Andrea   BTW I’m on Twitter here, Google+ here, Instagram here, and Facebook too, if you’re interested in the other stuff I share. Feel free to share my blog if you think anyone you know will be interested or entertained. I sure do appreciate it when you do xxxxx

Have you ever had a chicken curry that’s so good, you’ll spend the next 10 years ordering it at restaurants just hoping to get that same sensation again? No? Then don’t read this. Yes, read on.     We were in Bali over Chinese New Year and one night we ordered a take-away curry from this restaurant (I believe) called Warung Little India. Unfortunately, there were six adults and only one serving of the chicken curry left, but man oh man that tiny amount of curry was a mouth-watering delight. The rest of the food was amazing as well, but the chicken curry – to die for.   Put it on your list if you’re planning a trip to Ubud. The whole town is full of amazing restaurants I tell ya, but the Indian should not be missed.   The incredible, mouth-watering experience that comes with a world-class curry is something I hope for every time I order this delicious dish. I don’t know what the combination is that gets it so right, but the rarity of the experience leaves me always living in hope I can find it just one more time.   Living in Asia, I get a much greater opportunity to find the delectable dish, but unfortunately, with so much MSGin the food around these parts, it’s hard for me to risk it locally. That’s a complete bummer, but the headache I get, as well as other symptoms, just doesn’t make it worth it.   One place I have found for curry in Singapore is the Polo Club. They do an awesome chicken curry with roti bread. If you’ve never had a curry with roti, can I just tell you to change your life instantly and have it? Amazing.   Of course you can always get a great butter chicken in Singapore. What a delight when Vantaseopened up at the condo down the road! We are spoilt for choice with Indian restaurants in this city and I’ve got to tell you, Singapore does the BEST Indian food in the world. Don’t agree? I don’t care. I know it’s true.   My favorite favorite curry in town will always be Colombosdown on Boat Quay. It’s Sri Lankan food and I want to visit that country so bad, I can’t tell you. If you’ve visited me in Singapore and I didn’t take you to Colombos. My apologies. Come back and I promise you we’ll do it. The food, the view, the service. Love it.   Back to day dreaming about my ideal chicken curry… I wish I could have it for dinner tonight… But it’s not on the menu.   Although, my friend Rachel (an amazing cook) made me dinner recently and do you know what was on the menu? Beetroot Curry. Beetroot I know. Steve would’ve died (he cannot understand the Australian obsession with beetroot) but let me tell you something – it was bloody amazing! Thanks babe.   Most importantly about Rachel’s curry is that the sauce she made is exactly the sauce I crave for in a chicken curry, but success is more than that. The quality of the chicken is a critical part of a curry’s success. If you get that wrong, by drying the chicken out or only doing white meat… well it’s a fail.   Ahhhh chicken curry, how I love thee. I just wish I knew your magic ingredients. The only two I know that are essential are curry leaves and lime leaves. Beyond that, I have no idea. So I keep looking and hoping.   As my mouth waters for a chicken curry I want you to do me a favor: Send me your perfect recipe Tell me where I can get an amazing chicken curry in Singapore that has no MSG If I visit you, take me to the place where you have the bestest chicken curry in the world Deal?   Is chicken curry your thing, or do you have another foodie quest that keeps you living in hope?   Yours, without the bollocks Andrea   BTW I’m on Twitter here, Google+ here, Instagram here, and Facebook too, if you’re interested in the other stuff I share. Feel free to share my blog if you think anyone you know will be interested or entertained. I sure do appreciate it when you do xxxxx